The present invention relates to a crockery basket of a dishwasher for receiving pieces of crockery, comprising a bottom and lateral parts framing the bottom, at least two substantially parallel rows of rods for holding the pieces of crockery being arranged on the bottom, each row consisting of at least one base wire for the rods and at least one row of rods which is fixed to the base wire and consists of individual rod wires, and to a dishwasher comprising a corresponding crockery basket.
A crockery basket is known from DE 72 35 591 U which comprises a bottom framed by lateral parts. Bottom and lateral parts consist of individual wires that are connected to each other. Parallel corrugated wires are provided on the bottom of the crockery basket for receiving pieces of crockery, on which wires rod wires are securely arranged by one end respectively. The other end of the respective rod wire protrudes freely into the interior of the basket. The corrugated wires, together with the rod wires, are used to receive pieces of crockery. One drawback of this design of a crockery basket is the expensive manufacture of the crockery basket owing to the corrugated wires. The corrugated wires, which are located in the base region, have the further drawback that pieces of crockery, in particular small plates, received between the corrugated wires and the rod wires protrude into a region below the crockery basket. Consequently, it is not possible to rule out damage to the pieces of crockery due to a spray arm, which is often arranged below the crockery basket. Additionally, due to the design of the rod wires it is difficult to fill the crockery basket with substantially cylindrical pieces of crockery, such as glasses for example. The glasses are received only unstably and may be damaged during the washing process.
A crockery basket for dishwashers is known from DE 299 21 601 U1 in which a row of rods for holding the pieces of crockery is arranged on the bottom. The row of rods comprises a rod base wire and a row of rods secured thereto comprising individual rod wires. The rod base wire is located on the bottom of the crockery basket, which is a wire mesh. The pieces of crockery are held by two rows of rods between two rod wires respectively. The row of rods can be folded down if required and positioned against the bottom. Support is provided by way of additional bent wires in the base mat of the crockery basket, which wires surround the rod base wire. One drawback of this is that the bearing point is simultaneously the point at which the piece of crockery is to be held. This does not ensure that the piece of crockery is held stably and so as to be protected. If the pieces of crockery are, by way of example, small plates or glasses they protrude through the base mat of the crockery basket and can be damaged as a result of a movement of a spray arm, which is arranged in the dishwasher below the mesh basket. Additionally, the piece of crockery may touch the base mat wires of the bottom of the crockery basket resulting in the piece of crockery being held only unstably and possibly likewise being damaged. Cylindrical pieces of crockery, such as glasses or tumblers, are not stably held by the rod wires even when the row of rods is erected, and may be damaged as a result.